Pornography gets the blame for a lot of societal problems, including the so-called “sex recession.” Can porn ever really be ethical? Erika Lust thinks so. The adult filmmaker sees porn as an art form. She’s a self-described feminist who centers women’s desires and fantasies in her work. But how different is the product she’s making?

Lust sits down with Julia Yost, senior editor at “First Things,” to make the case for porn. Together, they discuss the adult film industry, stigmas around sex and translating fantasy into reality.

Note: As we work on relaunching “Interesting Times,” the show will feature a series of guest hosts in the coming months.

00:00 - Intro
01:22 - How Erika Became a Pornographer
03:51 - Behind the Scenes of an Adult Film
08:07 - The Relationship With Performers
08:55 - Porn vs. “Euphoria”
10:16 - Ethical Porn
13:00 - Accurately Depicting Female Pleasure
14:22 - Making Porn as a Feminist
16:03 - Andrea Dworkin and the Anti-Porn Feminist Movement
19:06 - “The Golden Era of Porn”
20:55 - Fantasizing Under The Patriarchy
24:01 - Sexuality In Ancient Rome
26:15 - The Cornell Seven and Sexual Risk
34:30 - Why We Need Stigmas
40:55 - Is Porn Causing the Sex Recession?
42:23 - “The Most Vanilla People Have the Hottest Sex Lives”
43:23 - Porn Addiction and Compulsive Behavior
46:44 - Religious Conservatives Aren’t Ashamed of Sex

(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)

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Can Porn Ever Be Ethical?

Interesting Times

Can Porn Ever Be Ethical?